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In going through this process of researching various artists and artworks I have learnt of their significance in history and how different periods changed society and developed new techniques and styles. I have become inspired with many italian artists and their desire to create famous works that changed peoples life and are still changing them today. I have become much more interested in learning the different styles that artists have used and want to continue to experiment with these in my own artwork as I go through this journey of finding my own styles and developing skills in different areas.

I have enjoyed this topic of re-interpretation and it has given me greater insight into working different ways, with new technology and other materials.This project in particular was quite interesting in seeing how different things are today, in the way that teenagers freely express their love for one another compared to Romeo and Juliet who had to hide it because of the conflict between families.I realise this happens still today but not as much as it did back then. I love this story because they pretty much gave up their lives to be with eachother, they died together. It was very fun putting my sister n boyfriend in the contemporary context of them and I will continue to learn more as I keep practising. Very grateful for the achievements and growth I have made in just this last year!

A double exposure is the superimposition of two or more exposures to create a single image. Double exposures are used by many photographer artists today particularly with our new and emerging technology today. Duane Michals creates double exposures using his self-portraits and different objects of his own. He also creates them with specific environments such as the individual’s home, bedroom or small space that is inclosed, even against blank walls. He accepts the fact that spirits are not visable in photographs however, he has created some double exposures which make it look like they are real and seen in his. I also found some others I came across where two people in the photograph was placed on top of eachother or the individual would be placed in a setting like the beach or with other relatives, here are some that I collected: These are why I was so inspired to apply it to my artwork!

I chose two specific photographs that I took which looked quite similar in position with Romeo and Juliet. This was because I was going for a more contemporary look without making it too different to the original. They were both wearing red and white which worked out to my advantage and so I got them out of my photo and copied onto the original painting. I then used a blur and blending tool around the edge of my sister and her boyfriend so it wouldnt be that noticeable that it wasn’t apart of the proper image. I also used a cloning tool to rearrange parts and cover different sections that I didn’t want visable like the bottom of Juliet’s dresss and I spent time adjusting the colour to balance it with the original. I was very proud of the finishing outcome and how well it worked out.

I then wanted to try another using double exposure as I had done some previous research on Duane Michals who used his self-portraits and combined another photo of an object or place over the top. I had also seen many examples on the Internet and a family friend in America who does her own professionally. This contemporary technique that quite a number of people today use suddenly became very fascinating to me and so I researched various ways of doing it. Using the settings on your camera first hand is one way and the easiest as it does it for you however, because I had already taken the photographs I combined the two photographs I wanted to use on photoshop and used the colour, crop and opacity tools to create the double exposure. As I had completed these two pieces I also did an experiment with clear paper where the dark outlines of photograph printed onto it.

I chose to use these last couple of pieces as my final artwork of ‘The New and Improved Contemporary Romeo and Juliet’ I was very happy with the outcome and excited to learn and produce more, developing skills and new techniques.

I finally after much reflection and consideration and talking with Corny went out to a variety of different places and photographed my sister and her boyfriend in various posers and positions to get a similar effect as the painting of Romeo and Juliet. I then edited the photographs in photoshop and lightroom with various colours and vibrancy. I also drew the outline of them in one of my photographs and played with the colours and different filters creating different effects etc. I also tried a Picasso look using shapes and a filter with blue, pink and green. However, I still had yet to produce the re-interpretation that I wanted to present as a final. These were some of the experiments spoken about:

This is the attempted Picasso look! :p Which I was quite surprised with but definitely not a finished work standard. The photos of the drawing which were manipulated looked quite interesting too. They are in the portfolio sorry for the inconvenience. Even though these needed more work if i was to use them for a final presentation I had a lot of fun doing different things with the photos instead of leaving them the same. I definitely want to and will keep working on these!

After researching about these Italian artworks and the Picasso Period I thought and experimented with different ways to apply them in a re-interpretational piece. It was quite difficult particularly as cubism and his style of painting was not my greatest strength so searching for other times in history was needed. This way I would be able to combined the two periods together. Thinking back to my trip in Italy, it suddenly hit me! One of the most well-known Italian love stories,,, ‘Romeo and Juliet’. I visited the statue of Juliet and her balcony and saw all the letters and notes people left for her about 3 years ago now. This inspired me in using the text of the play which I felt was very emotional and powerful in the name of love, loss, sacrifice and conflict and so it would work well with my paintings and the stages of picasso.

I used these techniques and elements from each period and experimented using both of them in the painting however, they still didn’t really re-interpret the way the criteria outlined. These are a few experimentations I made:

This is using Picasso’s blue period by simply adding a blue colour filter and having the Romeo and Juliet text over the top with the opacity layer. Not quite enough re-interpretation as the painting is still the same.

This one was using the red colour filter for Picasso’s rose period. Again this needed to have a little more re-interpretation added to it. I felt I also needed to be able to produce better quality work and that this could be done through using more of my skills in photography and computer programs for this to happen. My brain was continually ticking and researching for other things that caught my attention

While thinking about how to re-interpret the Italian paintings into a different era, I was reading about other times in history and came across ‘Picasso’s Periods’. This is where he created major stylistic phases between 1903-1938 onwards.These included seven main phases where his art would change along with his life and world, they were:

1. Blue Period (1903-5). Sad, gaunt people in gloomy settings, and then circus and harlequin subjects. The predominant colour is a melancholy blue. Example: “Harleqins family” 1906.

7. A style with strong expressionist elements (1938 onwards). Subjects that anticipate the terror of war and reveal the conflict in his mind. Double images and extreme distortion. Example: “Two women by the sea”. At one stage he appeared to be influenced by Negro sculpture His first consideration in artistic expression is form.

I find Italian artwork very beautiful and inspiring, particularly becuase it is part of my culture and where my family come from. The thing I loved most about going to Italy was being able to see these amazing galleries, churches and monumental sites from centuries ago and the significant importance they play in history not only for Italians but for the rest of the world too. As I was looking through the beautiful artworks famously known today, I came across a particular time called “The Renaissance Period” (meaning rebirth) which became quite fascinating to me. There were several artists that were a huge success during this period of time some of these included: Masaccio, Donatello, Brunelleschi, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Titian, Tintoretto, Bellini, Botticelli, Caravaggio, Ghiberti, Giotto, Raphael and Poggio Bracciolini. Many of these artists became very influential in the history of Italian art, particularly in contributing to a new cultural movement that profoundly affected European intellectual life. Beginning in Italy, and spreading to the rest of Europe by the 16th century, its influence was felt in literature, philosophy, art, music, politics, science, and religion. The humanist method was introduced in study, and searched for in art of realism and human emotion. Artists explained this movement ‘as a modern way of thinking about the world and man’s place in it replacing an old, backward one.’ This is evident in some of the following paintings: